The True Story of Angels Among Us: Miracles Happen When We Surrender and Pray for God’s Will
I became a Christian almost 20 years ago. The first years of my walk with Jesus were filled with almost unbelievable encounters with God. One of my favorite stories from that time in my life is the story of a man named David whom I met one night in a bar.
I enjoyed dancing country western (I still do!), so I went to Cotton Eyed Joes’ one night with some friends. I was catching my breath at a table right in front of the dance floor when I felt like I was supposed to go talk to this guy behind me at the bar. He had shoulder-length curly blonde hair, a black cowboy hat, and was drinking a beer. I argued with that voice in my head for a good 30 minutes, I couldn’t understand why I should talk to this guy, but the urge just wouldn’t go away.
Finally, I got closer and learned that his name was David. He lived in New York, where he was a very successful dairy farmer. We talked effortlessly throughout the night and made plans to meet at Red Lobster the following afternoon for lunch.
David was easy to talk to, so it didn’t take long for his life story to come out. Back at his home in New York, he had suffered from a major depression and attempted suicide, so his doctor sent him on an ‘impromptu’ break. Heading south on I-75 toward Florida, he saw Cotton Eyed Joe’s and, being a country western dancer himself, he decided to stop.
My group of friends immediately adopted it. David checked into the local Knights Inn for an extended stay. He invited him over to my apartment frequently, along with everyone else, and he started going to church with a group of us every week. One night he told me that he was the last to go: “I really want to believe in God like all of you. But, I just can’t force myself.” So, we pray… right there… around 1 am. “Lord, David wants to believe in you, but he needs to know that you are real. Can you do something that only you can…something that will help him believe that you are real?”
The next morning, David called me and excitedly told me what had happened to him after he left my condo. After praying, he drove directly to the Knights Inn. As he got out of his car, a lady across the parking lot also got out of his car and walked toward him. She called him from across the parking lot and asked if her name was David, and she confessed that she thought God had sent her to talk to him. She didn’t think he would believe her, but she did.
This was HIS story. She had been entertaining her own thoughts about suicide. She was considering ending her life that very night when she cried out to a God she wasn’t sure existed. She told God that IF He was real… that she needed to give him a sign. A very strange thought entered her mind. The ‘thought’ told her to “go to the Knights Inn and wait for a man named David”. So here she was.
They talked about God all night…none were believers…but they wrestled with many of the same issues. David shared some of what he had learned at church over the past few weeks, and she listened enthusiastically. It still amazes me that God used an unbeliever to speak to this woman about Christ. She reminds me that God can use anyone, anywhere to reach a prodigal son.
The following week, I took David to a new growth group at the church. The leader took his place at the front of the room and said, “God has put it on my heart that there is someone here who desperately wants to believe but just can’t…and that’s okay. God wants to meet you.” here. Can we pray for you?” I heard David whisper, “It’s me.”
David stood up as several men and women surrounded him to pray. Two or three men took turns praying out loud when suddenly David fell to the ground. Thank goodness someone seemed to have broken the fall and prevented a broken lip or worse. Did he fake? I looked at David there on the ground. Flat. Lying… on your stomach, arms outstretched at your sides. What started as a shy, almost inaudible moan turned into a cacophony of emotion. His body shook with deep sobs.
After the growth group, we headed to church. David sat through the worship without participating, and was completely withdrawn. After church, David was silent, fending off questions as he sat alone in a corner. Finally, that night, he told me what had happened.
David explained that when the people had begun to pray for him, he felt a large hand in the center of his back. Something akin to a bolt of power shot through that large hand. Y. Beaten. To the. Down. He said, “Christina, I didn’t want to lie there, but I couldn’t move. I think that was God.” As he lay on the ground, an overwhelming sense of love washed over him. He felt loved. unconditional love More love than he could handle. He knows it was Jesus. The following Sunday, Arielle was sick, so David went to church alone and gave his life to the Lord.